Death and The Strawberry VS A Video Game
by gone-phishing
Summary: Well, I encountered a zombie, almost had a heart attack, and I think the midget's gone into trauma...it can't get any worse, right?   And from there, it just went downhill. IchiRuki


**Author's Note: Woo, first thing I've uploaded in a long time. Just got back from holidays guys, sorry for the wait. **

**Anyway, if you have never played Amnesia – The Dark Descent, I shit you not; it is one of the scariest games I have ever played. Because you cannot actually ATTACK monsters, your options are run, hide or die horribly. Personally, I may have exaggerated it the slightest bit in this fic, but anyway the idea is it's a pretty mind-screwing game.**

**Here is the teaser trailer if you remove the spaces – http: / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=M627-obxNzg**

**I suggest you watch it if you have never heard of the game, as it will give you a good idea of what I'm ranting on about in this fic.**

**(Oh and one more thing, before you review telling me how un-scary the game play vid was, keep in mind that it is at least 10x worse when you're playing the game.**

**For those who have played the game, you know what I'm talking about! If you somehow played the game, finished it in its entirety without shitting yourself, then you sir, have earned my respect!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor Amnesia – The Dark Descent, and if I did, you can bet my mind would be more royally screwed over than it currently is.**

I found myself grinding my teeth together and gritting my jaw in what appeared to be a futile attempt to stop the she-devil to my right from dislocating my arm. Her violet eyes were as wide as saucers as sweat trickled down her forehead, dampening her already thoroughly drenched pyjamas. She currently was holding my arm prisoner, clinging on to it was if it was a lifeline, as well as curling under my chest as if I was some sort of wall.

Yes that's right, the midget was absolutely scared out of her mind, and was currently clinging to my chest is a form of half embrace.

Problem?

Well that was easy. I was in no better condition.

I know what you're thinking, THE Kurosaki Ichigo scared of a measly video game? Yeah right! The same Kurosaki Ichigo who faced all of soul society, then all of Hueco Mundo, then Aizen himself!

...Actually I don't think Aizen should actually be added to that list. No offence to the guy, but he would have been much more frightening if he had taken tips from the game I was currently playing. I mean really...who chooses a butterfly?

Anyway, where was I... In fact, that was my exact mindset a mere 2 hours ago when the midget dragged me to join in with her. The only way I could stop my hands from shaking was the grasp the covers tighter than I grasped Zangestu. I figured out about five minutes ago, that if I kept my mouth shut and ground my teeth together, they would finally stop chattering.

Luckily, or unluckily however you see it, the midget hadn't reached that phase yet, as her jaw was simply sitting limp, as she gaped at the screen in front of us. How exactly did the midget and I end up, huddled together, sitting on my bed under the covers, with MY laptop in front of us, scared out of our wits you ask?

Well, actually, it was surprisingly simple, and like most things these days, it all started with a bet.

_-1 week ago.-_

I was heading back to the classroom as the sun stood high in the sky, and the breeze blew through the courtyard. The lunch bell had just been ringing, and the entire student population was attempting to squeeze through one singular hallway in a rush to get to their classes on time.

Usually I managed to avoid the rush, by leaving slightly early, but unluckily for me today, Keigo continued to prattle on about some new game he found, as he refused to just go down no matter how many times I socked him in the jaw. The rest of us were stuck, listening to an over exited Keigo rabble for at least 20 minutes, until the bell rang, signalling the loss of my usual advantage to get to the classroom.

Darting through crowded hallways doing my fair share of pushing and shoving, I eventually found myself standing in front of my homeroom. Once again, this didn't seem like a problem, but there was one miniature thing stopping me from getting to class on time. And by miniature, I mean midget, seeing as she stood valiantly at the door with her arms crossed defiantly across her chest, with an adorable pout set on her lips...wait, rewind. '_adorable_'?

The hell did that come from?

Okay, let's rephrase that, the violet she-devil stood waiting with a predatory gleam in her eye as she gazed at me like I was a sitting duck, and she a starving lioness. Suddenly, her demeanour changed as she batted her eyelashes innocently, and asked me a simple question with her sickly sweet voice, the mischievous gleam still lingering in her violet hues.

"Oh Kurosaki-kun, the girls were telling me about the amazing new game that came out the other day, and I was just wondering if I could borrow enough money to buy it?" she questioned, oh so '_innocently'_.

In my head, that translated to something along the lines of '_money_' and '_now_'.

Of course, I MAY have accidently shouted something like '_no way in hell'_ right in her face, to which she MAY have stomped on my foot with her tiny one, dragging my face down to her level by roughly ripping my ear.

Yes to HER level, seeing as I was too tall for the midget to actually whisper in my ear.

Hah! Pathetic right?

I was about to comment on it, however the excruciating pain in both my ear and my foot forced me huff out a pained grunt instead. Of course, her being the CARING 'friend' that she is, only increased the pressure of both. Bringing he ear to her lips, she whispered her previous question in her regular, demanding tone of voice with a deadly undertone.

"Ichigo, I bet I could finish this new game in one night, and not only are you going to help me, but I need about 9000 yen."

Now my response would have been something like my first one, had I responded fast enough, for you see, in the 4 seconds it took for me to process the number 9000 in my head, the violent midget and already disappeared.

Little did I know that when I found my wallet on the kitchen table when I arrived home, it was 9000 yen lighter.

_-Friday-_

Goat-face had told me the other day that he was going to take the girls out for the weekend, and he would be leaving on Thursday. At the beginning of said discussion, I didn't exactly understand what he was insinuating when he shot me dirty looks every 5 seconds, no matter what I was doing. It was then I realized that I would be home, alone with Rukia for the weekend, and from then on I spent the next hour bashing my so-called '_father's_' face in.

Unluckily for me, his stupid rant on grand-babies and how pretty his lovely third-daughter was looking actually set my wandering mind racing. The thoughts of me being alone with said midget continued to gnaw away at my focus every day, until the blessed Friday arrived, and I THOUGHT it would finally leave me alone.

Oh how wrong I was... As soon as I departed from school, I just knew something was up. Maybe it was the fact that I saw the violent she-devil actually sprint out of the classroom as soon as the final bell rang, or it was the fact that when I got home, every light in the house was out and the door to my room closed.

Ripping open the door, I was mildly surprised to find the midget currently occupying MY bed, using MY laptop, wearing MY pyjamas... Though I have to admit, some perverted corner of my mind thought that she had never looked better, seeing as she was currently wearing MY boxers.

I decided quickly that she was far too involved in whatever the hell she was doing to argue with me, seeing as I had been standing here for at least 10 minutes, gaping like a fish out of water, and she had yet to notice my arrival. I stalked over to my closet, grabbed a pair of track-suit pants and a hoodie, and walked back out, slamming the door behind me.

I growled as I walked towards the bathroom, hearing a faint '_was somebody there_?' from the other side of the door..._stupid midget._

I stood outside the door to my bedroom, staring at the 15 hung on the door, all the while listening to whatever the hell Rukia was doing on the other side.

At first, I decide I would just barge in like normal, seeing as it was MY room, but as I drew closer, I heard her squeak...yes squeak. My first thought after hearing that...noise, was that there was a mouse in my room. I stood there, for what seemed an eternity, before I heard the same noise again.

What the hell was going on in there?

Countless times, I had heard the midget hiss, growl, snap, shout, and talk in that overly sugary voice, and on occasion when there was a Chappy sale around squeal, and hell once I swear I caught a sob, but never in my months of living with her had I heard...'_that'_ noise.

My protective instincts kicked over, as I crashed through the door, finding an extremely confused midget gaping at me, with her eyes wide and jaw slack. It took her a count of 4? No, about 5 seconds to analyse what in the hell just happened, and when she did... all I can say, is I was left with dark, purple bruises dotting my shins.

"The hell are you doing?" I asked, finding my voice after having it kicked out of me...literally...

She scowled at me, furrowing her brows before pulling out a game case and shoving it my face. I blinked dumbly for a total of 10 seconds, before taking the small box from her hands and peering at it curiously.

On the front, there was a single rose in the middle of what looked like a filthy prison cell. The room appeared dimly lit, and the edges of the picture were faded. I glanced up at the title '_Amnesia – The Dark Descent' _before glaring at the midget after I spotted the '9000' yen price tag.

"Bitch, that was my money!" I growled, as she simply shrugged it off.

_Stupid midget_...

Unfortunately, I may have accidently muttered it out loud, which resulted in a 20 minute verbal war of exchanging insults. Like always, she managed to slip in the last word, leaving me fuming as she refocused back on my laptop.

"You're going to help me beat this game, Strawberry." She ordered me. Like always, my first response was a definite 'NO', and like always, that 'NO' somehow turned into a '_fine'_ after a five minutes arguing once more.

She laid on her front, sprawled out carelessly on my bed, laptop in hand as she un-paused the game. I raised an eyebrow at her, before walking over and taking a seat behind her, watching her play the game.

"So what was the bet, midget?" I asked, nonchalantly, though internally extremely curious as to what exactly cost me 9000 yen. She shrugged before replying in the same nonchalant manner.

"They said its one of the top horror games, and they bet I couldn't finish it before Monday. I accepted... and by the way, if you're still fretting about your money, I get 14000 yen back if I win. I openly gaped at her, out of all the things I expected her to say, I didn't expect that.

"That's why, you're going to help me win the game, got it?" she continued, not noticing my scowl deepening and me crossing my arms defensively. I sighed heavily after noticing she wasn't paying the slightest attention, realizing that in her mind, I was already in and nothing would change that..._stupid midget._

_-20 minutes into the game-_

Okay, so this may have been slightly frightening to people who are afraid of the dark, but so far, it really didn't seem that bad. True, I hadn't actually played the game yet, but nothing had actually happened. All I did was watch Rukia run around, exploring dark rooms while picking up random items.

"Oi, midget, what exactly is so scary about this?" I snapped, slightly annoyed I was wasting my Friday night. I didn't catch the fist that was careening towards my face, until it was deeply embedded in my nose.

"Argh, what the hell midget!" I roared, before her eyes seemed to glow in fury.

"I'm not a midget!" she hissed back through clenched teeth, once more turning her attention back to the game.

"Anyway, I read a review, and apparently it doesn't get scary until about an hour in." She replied, her tone changing from unbridled anger, to a thoughtful one.

"Why's it scary then?" I asked, pondering more to myself than her.

"Because the monsters show up. In this game, you can't fight 'em. You can only run and hide, and if you haven't noticed the guy you play is slightly insane." She replied, fully focused on the seemingly dull game in front of her. I nodded, before she continued with her rant.

"If you stay in the dark, you eventually go insane and fall on the ground and start screaming, which of course attracts the attention of monsters, no matter where they are. The only way you can stay sane, is if you stand in the light, but of course, the light ALSO attracts unwanted attention." She explained, currently searching through yet another wardrobe full of tinder boxes.

I sighed, still finding the game boring and slow, before she raised an eyebrow and rolled over. It took me a full minute to comprehend what just happened, as the laptop was thrust into my position, and she was now on the sidelines.

_-50 minutes into the game-_

Okay, I had officially been playing for half an hour now and I can finally see what the hell the midget was talking about.

So far, I had collected many, many tinderboxes, almost gone insane...twice, and explored up the to the Study. I agree with the stupid midget now... it is ALOT worse playing that watching. My nerves are completely fried, and I continue to jump at the slightest noise from either the game, or the outside.

Luckily, I had the comfort of knowing the midget wasn't in much better condition. The only things that had happened so far, was I opened a draw, skulls popped out, which I have to admit, made me jump back into the wall, as it did to the midget also, and the flashbacks and random cave ins had also managed to make me jump.

Okay, 50 minutes in, and I am officially begging for out.

The atmosphere is just too damn creepy, and having the knowledge that I can't defend myself in the slightest isn't helping my raw nerves.

The worst part?...

I haven't even encountered a freakin' monster!

I have no idea what the hell they look like; all I know is that the midget said they don't CHASE you until a certain point, which we hadn't reached yet. I kept running down the corridor I was currently in, seeing as though there was nothing to light and I was running low on oil to keep the lantern (my only source of light, and therefore sanity) going.

Eventually I reached the end, as I turned my character around to face the countless windows dotting the right side of the hallway. Turning my guy back around, I spotted a room at the very end, currently blocked by rubble.

Seeing as though this was a puzzle game, my initial intention of running over to the rubble and staring at it for a good five minutes was purely because I thought there may be some kind of hidden contraption, not because I was scared...no, not in the slightest!

It was then that I heard what I swear was a footstep behind me.

My heart hammering in my chest, I slowly turned my character around, only to come face to face with a freakin' monster!

It looked human-ish, with his jaw dislocated and ripped half was down its stomach. I think my brain may have froze at that point, because both the midget and I grabbed each other while still staring at the screen like a deer caught in headlights.

The correctly dubbed 'monster' raised its arm in preparation to strike, as it took at staggering step forward. Suddenly, it began to shake, and then crumble from my vision turning to dust in front of me...

I paused the game, and sat in silence for a full 5 minutes, attempting to get my brain out of its frozen state. My shock and horror soon turned to anger, as I realized that stupid monster had just given me a heart attack, and a brain aneurism or two, then just disappeared like nothing happened!

Unluckily for me, my body was unable to keep up with my brains rage, and was stuck in the 'holy shit' element of what just happened. The only words I managed to whisper were "Your turn" as I felt the midget stiffen beside me.

Well, I encounter a zombie, almost had a heart attack, and I think the midget's gone into trauma...it can't get any worse, right?

And from there, it just went downhill.


End file.
